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So another New Year , and this time I WILL achieve all of my dreams…honest!

I wonder if I am the only one who woke up on the first of January, with lots of great ideas, good intentions and an absolute foolproof plan for my work and personal life, a plan that will this time completely deliver all of my dreams.

Well, it’s only the 10th January and I’m already behind schedule grrrr!!!…so much for new beginnings and well laid plans…however I am now on it and I still have more than 11 months to complete my list so I am going to beat myself up ….well not yet anyway ….

One of the things that I had planned was a much bigger push on my own training as well as working with my clients but if I am completely honest it took me a while to get back in the gym even though I knew that when I finally got there it would make me feel great. It took me several days to find my mojo but I finally found it and now there is not stopping me. Isn’t it funny how we stop ourselves from doing the things that we know are good for us, even when we enjoy those things.

Anyway I’m now completely absorbed in the fitness industry and I am absolutely loving it but I do find some of the things I see quite contradictory.
Some things are quiet amusing, for example right now of course so many people are embarking on new fitness journeys and motivations are so varied. Of course, many people go to the gym because they feel unfit and they want to get healthy or they want to lose weight. For a few people though its more about aesthetics. There is nothing wrong with that but it is quite interesting to see some of the methods people take to achieve the healthy body beautiful. For example, people will take steroids or lots of supplements…for every person who chugs down protein drinks and supplements there will be another who swears blind that you can get all the nourishment you need from REAL FOOD and that actually ingesting anything that is processed is unhealthy. If you have ever competed in a body building competition you will know all about reducing your water intake to trace amounts in your last week of preparation and the benefits of drinking red wine before you actually compete! Then of course you have the muscle heads who can lift all day long but cannot run up a flight of stairs without doubling over or the cardio enthusiasts who struggle to bench a fifth of their bodyweight .

Other things are more concerning though. I have a client with a BMI of over 40 and her GP referred her, not to an exercise specialist or a nutritionist but to a weight loss group who’s focus is counting calories, excluding food groups and buying “special” foods… mmhhh. Now I am not dissing those kind of groups as I do think that they do some good work and there are lots of benefits to attending such groups but I think that we all know that in order to lose weight and keep it off, we need to change our lifestyles and learn new habits that we can sustain, rather than embark on a “diet” which at some point we will come off and then of course put the weight back on.
Also there is so much in the news and on the TV at the moment about the growing obesity crisis, obese people claiming disability, obese people not working. On the TV in one week you can watch Fat Surgeons, Fat Families, Shut Ins- Britains Fattest People , Embarrassing Fat Bodies, Weighing Up The Enemy. I Used To Be Fat, My 600b life, Benefits – Too Fat To Work…and I know that the list goes on…but where are the programmes about nutrition, healthy eating, healthy lifestyles. Lots of adverts about fast food, ready meals and alcohol but what about real healthy economical, easily accessible and practical food?
There is so much scaremongering but not enough real help or advice. I know that some will start muttering about a nanny state but I think that it is surprising how little people do know about real food and also there is a lot of misleading information out there.
Anyway I had better get off my soap box as this was only supposed to be a short, happy new year blog. Next time I will actually talk about some of the misleading dietary information out there especially when you look at the national strategies for obesity and diabetes but now will shut up, wish you all a great new year and speak soon.